Jorgensen declares bid for 43rd District

WHITEWATER  37th Assembly District Rep. Andy Jorgensen has announced he'll be running for re-election in the 43rd District, which has been reshaped by redistricting.

Jorgensen, a Fort Atkinson Democrat, announced his intent Thursday in Whitewater—the hometown of incumbent 43rd District Rep. Evan Wynn, who Jorgensen will face in the election.

Wynn, a Republican, announced his re-election bid last month.

Jorgensen's announcement is no surprise. The three-term state lawmaker and onetime worker at Janesville's former General Motors assembly plant has said since last fall he planned to run for re-election in the 43rd District.

With his 37th District chopped up geographically during redistricting, Jorgensen opted to run in the 43rd District instead. He has in the past called the reapportioned Assembly map "Republican gerrymandering" and likened it to putting his 37th district in a "political wood chipper."

Jorgensen has said his reason for running in the 43rd, in part, is because it would only require him to move a matter of blocks from his current home if he was elected.

Meanwhile, the reshaped 43rd Assembly District has taken on a more Democratic shape. It now includes parts of Dane County, including the village of Oregon.

The district also includes the Rock County cities of Edgerton and Milton, the village of Footville and the towns of Center, Fulton, Janesville, Lima, Milton, Plymouth, Porter and Rock. In Walworth County, it includes part of the city of Whitewater and part of the town of Whitewater.

Jorgensen sits on the Assembly Committees on Agriculture, Transportation and Rural Economic Development and Rural Affairs, and was chairman for Renewable Energy and Rural Affairs.